Suspect in Addison woman's murder waives hearing

A Jackson man accused of murdering a woman at her Woodstock Township home in November made his third court appearance Friday.

By Dennis PelhamDaily Telegram Staff Writer

ADRIAN — A Jackson County man accused of murdering a woman at her Woodstock Township home in November made his third court appearance Friday. But details of the crime remain shrouded in secrecy.

A hearing where evidence against Steven Daniel Storm was to be presented was skipped. He was bound over to Lenawee County Circuit Court for an arraignment on Jan. 23.

Storm, 42, is accused of suffocating 63-year-old Sandra Johnson at her rural home in Woodstock Township on Nov. 16. Her body was found the next day, dumped at a public boat launch a few miles away at Crispell Lake in Jackson County.

An investigation by sheriff’s detectives from Lenawee and Jackson counties led to Storm’s arrest the day before Thanksgiving on an open murder charge.

A death certificate stated Johnson died of asphyxia. No details of how she was suffocated or why Storm would want to murder her have been released by police or prosecutors involved in the case.

Some of those details were expected to be revealed during a preliminary examination Friday where the prosecution would have to present evidence to justify sending the case on to trial.

“My client, at this point, is going to waive his preliminary examination,” public defender John Glaser announced when Storm was brought into court. Glaser said Storm reserved his right to the hearing in the future if the case is not resolved in circuit court.

Storm was returned to jail, where he is being held without bond.

Family members of both Johnson and Storm left the courtroom separately.

No plea bargains have been offered or discussed, said Assistant Lenawee County Prosecutor Scott Baker.

He said details of the investigation are not being made public at this time, and have not been shared with the victim’s family.

“I can’t jeopardize the prosecution by going into motive and other issues,” Baker said.

“I think we have an extremely strong case,” he said. “I think when we have an opportunity to present the case to a jury they will agree with us.”

Glaser has said his client seems an unlikely perpetrator of such a crime. He was living quietly with his wife and children in Vandercook Lake and has no criminal history, he said.

Baker said the investigation has established Storm and Johnson were acquainted with each other. It was not a friendship or romantic relationship, he said.

Storm became a suspect when Johnson’s financial records were examined by detectives.

A preliminary examination first scheduled for Dec. 3 was adjourned when Glaser asked for more time to prepare. Police reports on the investigation had not all been turned over to him at that time, he said.

Glaser said Friday he now has all the police reports from the investigation.